In 2003 the field cricket was voted Insect of the Year. Their chirping is heard less and less. In warm, dry summers it occurs more frequently in places. How can you fight them?
Recognize field crickets
- botanical name: Gryllus campestris
- belongs to the family of real crickets
- Color: black with wings drawn in yellow
- noticeably large, round head
- Length: 20 to 26 millimeters
- Distinguishing feature: loud chirping
- very scary
- lives in self-dug earth caves, preferably on dry and poor grassland
Chirp
The conspicuous chirping of the field cricket males is caused by the rapid movement of the wings against each other. The music of the field crickets can be heard from May to July. Cricket men chirp so loud that they can be heard within 50 meters. Female field crickets can also chirp. However, their singing is not to the human ear
perceptible.Fight field crickets?
The field crickets are on the red list of endangered species in Germany! Even if the impressive black insect occurs more frequently in southern Germany, its population is extremely threatened by the decline in uncultivated, near-natural green spaces. Anyone who notices a Gryllus campestris cricket in the garden should be pleased. Their presence is a sign of a healthy biotope.
Note: The greatest enemies of the field crickets are intensive agriculture, the use of chemicals and the displacement of dry grasslands in favor of new settlement areas.
What do field crickets eat?
Field crickets are omnivores. Belong to their food
- root
- Herbs
- leaves
- Carcasses of insects
- small soil animals such as mites and beetles
Field crickets are on the menu of many domestic animals, e.g.
B.- Birds
- Reptiles
- Mice
- foxes
[xulescu_g, Gryllus campestris (35634613106), edited by home garden, CC BY-SA 2.0]
Field crickets have little defense. Their biting tools are sharp and strong, but they have no chance of defending themselves against birds, mice or larger animals. Field crickets have no sting and cannot spray poison. Still, it is not easy for the enemies of the cricket. When danger threatens, the shy animals disappear into their holes in the ground at lightning speed.
Harmful effect
Field crickets are not pests. In contrast to the almost insatiable appetite of the grasshoppers, the food requirement of the black insects is very low, so that damage to the garden is not to be feared. Field crickets dig holes in the lawn. However, the insects do not usually appear in large schools, so they are just individual, small holes. The crickets are
Loner. Immediately after mating, males and females withdraw into their own living tubes. Only the loud singing of the cricket men can be disturbing.Get rid of field crickets
Field crickets love the drought. If field crickets are bothering you because of the loud singing, water your lawn thoroughly. The insects are quickly looking for a drier place.
Even the smallest of noises drive the black field crickets out of their territory. After mowing the lawn, the residents usually disappear from their burrows and move to a quiet living space.
Tip: Make your garden as natural as possible. Birds, lizards, hedgehogs and the like are happy when they can catch a field cricket every now and then.
Prevent
Before a cricket penetrates your apartment and robs you of sleep with a loud chirping, prevent it from entering. Close the windows with insect screens and do not open the doors and windows of lighted rooms in the evening. Clean your home with vinegar cleaner. If you follow these precautions, crickets will stay outside.
Fun facts
Did you know that crickets played a special role in superstition? A grill in the bakery should bring luck and good customers to the baker. On the other hand, the insects were seen as spirits of the dead. In Thuringia, the phrase "lazy as a cricket" is common.
